So after all the endless discussions on this topic....and the challenge in trying to "coach" in writing I actually found myself helping out a local pro triathlete last week with just this thing.
As is the case on this forum and other times I've attempted to explain; catch, rotation, lengthening of stroke, maintaining stroke while accelerating, etc. I found again that some folks have a "natural" sense of feel for this stuff....its VERY hard to coach feel.
So.....I spent yesterday breaking down my stroke wit assistance from Jane Scott (Boulder Coach) and trying to better explain what it is I do unconsciously that others have to think about...some observations:
- In a series of 25's (all from a push) I tasked myself with keeping 11 strokes per lap and to descend each 25 till I added a stroke.....my goal to see what changed.
- First observation....I can literally slip my hand/forearm/arm thru the water without feeling any sense of "pressure" and take 11 strokes as slow as 25 seconds.....I can accelerate and descend down to 12+ keeping the same 11 strokes....faster than that my kick "kicks in" and I add another stroke and get to the low 11 range.
- What was different? First thing I noticed is that although it seems my hand track stayed the same on each 25 there was an ever increasing sense of "pressure" I could feel as I got faster. I would equate the sensation change as dramatic as moving my hand thru air on the easiest 25 to literally feeling the sensation I would feel pushing on the wall to climb out of the pool.
- So what happened? First I was able to discern a "tensioning" of my arm...but further examining this with Janes help it became apparent that this "coiling like a spring" as she described it was coming from my core....very interesting to really focus on this and realize how much that changed everything.....from there it extended to my catch....and ultimately the entire stroke movement thru the water.
- What next? We asked a few other swimmers to work on this as well and t change their focus to their core and it was amazing that all of them said the same thing....they could not feel anything in that area...when we asked to try and tense it resulted in other parts of the stroke falling apart...
- Thoughts for now; I really do think that to change these things takes an incredible amount of breaking down the stroke via drill work as has been discussed over and over here...the difference is really taking the time to think specifically how these drills translate to actually swimming...so many people I see do drills without a real sense of their purpose.
I think the key drills for me at this stage continue to be variations of sculling, the "arrow" drill shown on a link in an earlier thread that U of A uses and head of swimming (tarzan).
So....my coffee has run out and I have bloviated enough for now....very interesting for me however!
Sorry for the confusion in terminology...but thanks to George and Oguz for correctly describing them.
Tarzan: head up freestyle which allows you to see clearly where your hand entry is and at what angle...if your catch is off you choke!
Arrow: a link was posted somewhere else on this forum but I couldn't find it. Basically a 6 x 6 kicking drill preferably done with a snorkel and a hesitation of your hand entry...like the position an archer would take pulling back his bow strings.
The thing that was most fascinating was really focusing in on the change in "pressure" of my catch/stroke and how when I paid closer attention it emanated from my core....
Oguz....by chance have you known of a swimmer from Istanbul named Murat Ozuak? he was one of my best friends and teamates back at UCSB....we lost touch some years back but I beleive he was involved in the swimming world in Turkey?
As far as I understand, arrow drill is like front-catch in freestyle with snorkel, but the strokes are a bit different . Looking at the pictures, the recovering hand points forward like an arrow from the halfway till the entry.
here is the famous drill's pictures from two famous swimmers Schoeman and Myers.
Tarzan it depends which Tarzan you want to copy Buster Crabbe had a wonderfull stroke Johnny was a little different for sure. As for using headup front crawl I have my triathletes swim sprint laps with a waterpolo ball the same as my coach had me do for years.
Tarzan: head up freestyle which allows you to see clearly where your hand entry is and at what angle...if your catch is off you choke!
Like using video, doing this drill always causes mucho ephiphany with me - you always think you know what you look like until you actually see it. Good call.
I think the key drills for me at this stage continue to be variations of sculling, the "arrow" drill shown on a link in an earlier thread that U of A uses and head of swimming (tarzan).
So....my coffee has run out and I have bloviated enough for now....very interesting for me however!
Great post, Paul. Thanks. I know a lot of drills, but what the heck are "arrow" and "tarzan?"
I'm nor familiar with the arrow drill either. Is there a film clip where we can see it demonstrated? And athough I know what the Tarzan drill is, I've never done it. What does it do in the way of stroke improvement? And I'm sure there is a "correct" way of doing this drill in order to get the most benefit from it. Again, is there a film clip posted somewhere where we can see it demonstrated?
So after all the endless discussions on this topic....and the challenge in trying to "coach" in writing I actually found myself helping out a local pro triathlete last week with just this thing.
As is the case on this forum and other times I've attempted to explain; catch, rotation, lengthening of stroke, maintaining stroke while accelerating, etc. I found again that some folks have a "natural" sense of feel for this stuff....its VERY hard to coach feel.
So.....I spent yesterday breaking down my stroke wit assistance from Jane Scott (Boulder Coach) and trying to better explain what it is I do unconsciously that others have to think about...some observations:
- In a series of 25's (all from a push) I tasked myself with keeping 11 strokes per lap and to descend each 25 till I added a stroke.....my goal to see what changed.
I think it is difficult for many people (myself included) to have a full body awareness during such a set. I would run through this once by focusing on how my hand/arm sensation changed, again by focusing on how my kick changed, and a third time focusing on how my hips/core were intergrated.
That said, I believe that everyone could benefit from this kind of stroke examination.
Tarzan it depends which Tarzan you want to copy Buster Crabbe had a wonderfull stroke Johnny was a little different for sure. As for using headup front crawl I have my triathletes swim sprint laps with a waterpolo ball the same as my coach had me do for years.
George...whatever happened to that ex-swimmers going into Hero movies trend. I heard Emperor Ming was a wicked breaststroker! ;)
So after all the endless discussions on this topic....and the challenge in trying to "coach" in writing I actually found myself helping out a local pro triathlete last week with just this thing.
As is the case on this forum and other times I've attempted to explain; catch, rotation, lengthening of stroke, maintaining stroke while accelerating, etc. I found again that some folks have a "natural" sense of feel for this stuff....its VERY hard to coach feel.
- Thoughts for now; I really do think that to change these things takes an incredible amount of breaking down the stroke via drill work as has been discussed over and over here...the difference is really taking the time to think specifically how these drills translate to actually swimming...so many people I see do drills without a real sense of their purpose
Paul, You have made some excellent observations here and translated them into words that are understandable. There are many people, me included, that feel pressure changes during all parts of a swimming stroke. I am aware of almost everything my body does including breathing a 1/10th of a second too late because something else happens when this occurs, but many people cannot relay their words for a swimmer to comprehend; that is the hard part.
It is great that you have taken the time to break it down into components and described what may be happening. I am sure a lot of people will benefit. Now you know I am not an advocate of TI for various reasons, but I am sure that when you speak of this awareness, it is similar to Terry's use of mindful, but you have taken it a step further. And I kind of like the phrase to describe what you have done here "stroke awareness."
And drilling for the sake of drilling, to me, is just another form of swimming something different. Drills with purpose provide tremendous benefits to the swimmer.
Do you have any more stuff to share?
Donna
